City Brewing Co. in Wisconsin will buy a Memphis bottling plant, update the facility and begin beer production there this summer.

City is buying the Hardy Bottling facility for $30 million and will invest another $11 million, eventually creating 500 new jobs in Memphis, Mayor A. C. Wharton and company officials said. The company said the new jobs are expected to create an average wage of $41,705 per year and include a benefits package.

City Brewing makes and packages beer, primarily under contract, producing tea and energy drinks for large beverage companies. Parke said the company was looking for a third facility because its other locations in the Wisconsin cities of Latrobe and La Crosse are at or near capacity. The Memphis facility will be renamed Blues City Brewery.

The company is receiving a $5.7 million tax break over 15 years.

The plant was built in 1971 and has been owned by various brewing concerns since. A tornado damaged the plant in February 2008. It currently bottles only non-alcoholic beverages.

Legislation that would reduces the taxes small brewers pay has now been introduced in both chambers of Congress.

The Senate bill, S. 534, was introduced on March 9 by U.S. Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho). S. 534 would reduce the small brewer tax rate on the first 60,000 barrels by 50 percent (from $7.00 to $3.50/barrel) and institute a new rate $16 per barrel on beer production above 60,000 barrels up to 2 million barrels. Breweries with an annual production of 6 million barrels or less would qualify for these tax rates.

The Small Brewer Reinvestment and Expanding Workforce Act, H.R. 1236, was introduced by Representatives Jim Gerlach (R-Pa.) and Richard E. Neal (D-Mass.) Tuesday. Like its Senate counterpart, the House’s Small BREW Act would enact a graduated beer excise tax rate of $3.50 and $16.

“With the economy sputtering, Congress must create conditions that allow small businesses to become more competitive, protect existing jobs and create new employment opportunities,” Rep. Gerlach said.

Promoting support for the legislation, Brewers Association president Charlie Papazian said, “The 1,700-plus small American breweries account for about five percent of all the beer enjoyed in the United States and 50 percent of brewery jobs. The bipartisan support the Small BREW Act engenders will help assure a positive impact on agricultural, manufacturing, hospitality and distribution jobs for the future.”

Deschutes Brewery this week announced that it has finalized plans to expand its brewery headquarters in Bend, Oregon. Deschutes will add five fermentation tanks to keep up with growing demand. The brewery will also remodel its tasting rooms and gift shop.

“Demand is rising in our local market and among our loyal fans in the states where we sell our beer,” said Gary Fish, president and founder of Deschutes Brewery. “This expansion is an investment in our future to make sure that we are ready for the increased demand.”

The will create a new building to house the fermentation tanks, a new two-story building that will hold future processing equipment, an electrical control room and new restrooms and showers for the staff. The expansion will allow Deschutes to produce an additional 105,000 barrels per year, along with enhanced processes to continue ensuring beer quality and consistency. This will be the first phase in a two-phase expansion. The second phase will take place in several years and include five more fermentation tanks.

Water and energy efficiencies are built in to the new design, including the installation of a continuous use cleaning system and the addition of a water re-use tank which will save thousands of gallons of water and energy per year. Additional sustainability features include a heated warm rinse tank, which will save hot water and steam for tempering tanks between cycles. The brewery will continue with designs to capture CO2 from the fermenting process and decrease waste to the city sewer system.

Construction on the space is slated to begin mid-May 2011.

Alaskan Brewing will begin selling its beers in Minnesota in May. Original Gravity, a network of locally-owned craft distributors, to make the beer available in the Twin Cities and surrounding suburbs.

“We have had a lot of interest in Alaskan Brewing and so have our customers,” Original Gravity’s Hans “Hanszee” Lofgren said. “We are extremely happy to be bringing their award-winning beers to market.”

This is the first new market entrance for Alaskan since entering Colorado in mid 2008. With the addition of Minnesota, Alaskan beer will be available in 11 states.

“Alaskans and Minnesotan’s have a lot in common – cold winters, a love of the outdoors and a growing appreciation for quality craft beer,” said Alaskan Brewing co-Founder Marcy Larson. “We’ve been getting letters, calls and emails from thirsty Minnesotans for years – we’re thrilled to finally be answering the call.”

Redhook Brewery is celebrating its 30th birthday by unveiling a new look, including bottles, labels, bottle caps and packaging.

A press release states the new look is all part of Redhook’s effort to get back to its roots. “There seems to be a movement within the craft beer community where a lot of breweries are trying to ‘out craft’ each other,” said Robert Rentsch, brand manager of Redhook Brewery. “Redhook isn’t about that. Of course we’re brewing great beer, but we’re just as interested in having a great time. We think our new look reflects our personality well.”

Paul Shipman and Gordon Bowker (also co-founder of Starbucks) started Redhook in 1981 in a converted transmission shop in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood. Of course the brewery — now part of the Portland-based Craft Beer Alliance — grew into a much larger operation, which plants in Woodinville, Wash., and Portsmouth, N.H.

The new look includes:

* Packaging/Labels: Every beer style is identified by a unique color scheme and Redhook’s has added “beer-o-meter” to guide consumers looking for particular flavors.

* Bottle/Bottle Caps: To go back to basics, Redhook created a no-frills bottle, while the bottle caps all depict iconic images and phrases of Redhook’s colorful 30-year history.

Wynkoop Holding and Breckenridge Holding have finalized the details for their previously announced joint venture.

Wynkoop Holdings is the parent company of Wynkoop Brewing Company and seven Colorado restaurants and brewpubs. Breckenridge Holding is owner and operator of Breckenridge Brewery and four Colorado brewpubs and taphouses. Many changes are already under way:

* Wynkoop head brewer Andy Brown has been working out on Breckenridge’s 50-barrel system, in preparation for brewing there later this month. The canned and kegged versions of Wynkoop’s Rail Yard Ale and Silverback Pale Ale will be brewed and canned at the Breckenridge facility in Denver.

* Soon both Breckenridge and Wynkoop microcanned beers will be packaged on new equipment. The collective has made its first joint purchase, a prototype automatic canning machine that will quadruple the breweries’ canning speeds. It will allow both breweries to add new canned beers this summer, including Breckenridge’s SummerBright Ale this summer.

* Wynkoop and Breckenridge staffers have also begun work on a collaborative beer that will reach the Denver area’s best beer establishments in May. The draft-only beer is a Belgian-style strong ale unlike any beer the two have made in the past.

* Breckenridge will open Amato’s Ale House, a beer-focused restaurant feature 40 beers, taking over a building that is a Denver institution. Amato, which sells concrete garden décor like fountains, statues, birdbaths and planters, has been in the same location since 1947. The family-owned business is moving up the street one block. “We want to keep the north Denver theme,” said Ron Piscitelli, director of restaurant operations for Breckenridge. Breckenridge will decorate the Ale House with fountains from Amato.